BUSINESS
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
HeRMIsTOnHeRaLd.COM • A7
COLUMN
From the publisher | What’s going on at the newspaper?
he answer to the above
East Oregonian, it was clear that
question is, quite a lot,
remaining a small paid-circulation
weekly was no longer the best use
actually.
of resources nor adequately serv-
In May, the Hermiston Her-
ald was converted from a
ing these rapidly growing
small weekly paid news-
communities. The deci-
sion was made to con-
paper to a mass distribu-
vert the Herald into a free
tion free product covering
mass-distribution weekly
west Umatilla County and
northeast Morrow County,
blanketing that market by
while the East Oregonian
direct-mailing to 14,500
reduced publication days
Chris Rush
households throughout the
from five times per week
area. It has been very well
to three times (Tuesdays, Thurs-
received.
days and Saturdays).
At the very same time, we
Either of these projects would
reduced print publication days
have been a heavy lift, but we
at the East Oregonian and it has
chose to tear off the proverbial
gone as well as or better than
Band-Aid all at once and enacted
could be expected.
both changes at the same time.
Under the extraordinary cir-
While the Herald has long been cumstances that every small busi-
a weekly newspaper for the Stan-
ness now finds itself in these
field-Hermiston-Umatilla area,
days, it was a necessary move to
as well as a news bureau for the
align expenses with the new reve-
T
nue realities. But the truth is, this
move had been seriously contem-
plated even before the onset of
COVID-19.
We have not decreased our
news-reporting footprint in East-
ern Oregon.
Our current print home deliv-
ery for the EO is actually up for
the year and we have recently
witnessed a significant increase
in single-copy sales from local
retail and rack locations, as well
as tremendous growth in our
online subscriptions. It all adds
up to an average paid audience of
nearly 5,000 local households.
The real growth, however,
is online. For instance, did you
know that www.eastoregonian.
com reaches between 50,000 and
60,000 unique readers on an aver-
age every week? You read that
right. Our online footprint extends
throughout the Pacific Northwest
with thousands of readers log-
ging in from Oregon, Washing-
ton, Idaho and beyond every day.
The Hermiston Herald’s online
traffic has also increased since we
removed the paywall.
The transformation of the
newspaper industry as a whole
— from print-centric operations
to online multimedia outlets — is
well underway. The pandemic is
merely speeding up this process.
Another big change is com-
ing for yours truly. I am stepping
down as regional publisher here
in Pendleton at the end of June.
My wife and I will be relocating
to Texas shortly thereafter to be
closer to our extended family.
The operation is being left in
the very capable hands of the tal-
ented Andrew Cutler overseeing
editorial operations in the region
and Karrine Brogoitti as regional
sales director. Both are media
veterans and natives of Eastern
Oregon.
I have thoroughly enjoyed
my time here in Eastern Oregon
and will certainly miss so many
good people I’ve had the plea-
sure to meet and work alongside.
My parting advice is this: Please
don’t take your local newspaper
for granted. Now, more than ever,
local news is vital and the folks
here at your local newspaper are
working hard every day to keep
you informed, both in print and
online.
———
Chris Rush is the regional pub-
lisher for the East Oregonian,
Hermiston Herald, La Grande
Observer, Baker City Herald, Wal-
lowa County Chieftain and Blue
Mountain Eagle.
Lamb Weston sees COVID-19 outbreak Minimum wage
increases July 1
37 COVId-19 cases
linked to Lamb Weston
outbreak
By JADE MCDOWELL
neWs edITOR
By NADA SEWIDAN
sTaFF WRITeR
The Oregon Health
Authority
reported
37
COVID-19 cases linked to
Lamb Weston’s Hermis-
ton facility on June 23 in its
weekly reporting of worksite
outbreaks.
According to OHA, the
37 cases includes employ-
ees, but also cases that have
been traced back to employ-
ees through contact tracing,
such as family members.
Shelby Stoolman, a
spokeswoman for Lamb
Weston, said the plant closed
and will remain down while
they work closely with the
Umatilla County Public
Health to ensure the safety
of the staff.
“We’re taking this situa-
tion very seriously and pri-
oritizing the safety of our
team members,” Stoolman
stated in an email.
Lamb Weston shut down
their facility on Monday,
June 15, to complete deep
cleaning measures. Accord-
ing to OHA, an investiga-
tion was launched on Tues-
Contributed photo by Lamb Weston
Potatoes run on a conveyor belt at a Lamb Weston processing plant in 2019.
day, June 16. OHA did not
publicly disclose the poten-
tial outbreak at the time
because the initial case count
did not exceed the num-
ber necessary to consider it
an outbreak. Outbreaks of
more than 20 people in an
employee workspace with at
least 30 employees are now
publicly reported, up from
the threshold of five cases
per worksite that the state
was previously using.
Stoolman said the facil-
ity will remain closed until
it is safe to continue opera-
tions and that they have not
yet determined a reopening
date.
“We’ve reviewed our
safety protocols with the
Oregon Department of Agri-
culture and Oregon OSHA
and have confirmed that we
meet or exceed all of the
requirements for safe opera-
tion,” she said in an emailed
statement.
Lamb Weston is one of
Hermiston’s largest employ-
ers. In June 2019, the com-
pany cut the ribbon on a
new $250 million expan-
sion of its french fry fac-
tory in Hermiston, and at the
time reported that the loca-
tion’s 570 employees made
approximately 750 million
pounds of potato products
per year.
Other Hermiston res-
idents also work at the
company’s Boardman and
Tri-Cities locations.
Oregon’s
minimum
wage will see an increase
on July 1.
Umatilla and Morrow
counties, which fall under
the nonurban category, will
increase from $11 an hour
to $11.50. The Portland
metro area will increase
to $13.25, and “standard”
counties will go from $12
to $12.25.
The increases are part of
a bill passed by the Oregon
Legislature in 2016, divid-
ing counties into categories
and mandating incremen-
tal increases in minimum
wage each summer.
The entire state had a
minimum wage of $9.25
an hour before the bill
was passed. By July 2022
nonurban counties, found
mostly in Eastern Oregon,
will rise to $12.50 while
the Portland metro area
will be at $14.75.
The state does not allow
employers to count tips as
part of an employee’s base
pay — they must be paid
at least minimum wage
directly by the employer
and be allowed to keep tips
in addition to that amount.
For more information
about minimum wage, visit
oregon.gov/boli/workers/
Pages/minimum-wage.
aspx or call 971-673-0761.
Credit Union offers free shred day
HeRMIsTOn HeRaLd
Old West Federal Credit
Union is offering a free
shredding day at its Herm-
iston location on Thurs-
day, June 25 from 9 a.m. to
noon.
The business suggests
people consider bringing in
tax documents over 6 years
old, old bills that have been
paid, statements from loans
that have been paid off,
credit card statements, pay
stubs from past years and
other confidential finan-
cial documents you may
have at home but no lon-
ger need.
Staff will provide free
and secure shredding and
disposal of the documents.
The credit union is
at 1739 North First St.,
Hermiston.
Farm Fair looks at online options
People can take a
survey to weigh in on
what they want to see
HeRMIsTOn HeRaLd
The Hermiston Agricul-
tural Research and Exten-
sion Center is conducting
a survey as staff work to
determine what the 2020
Farm Fair will look like.
In an email to stakehold-
ers, HAREC staff said it
was unlikely that COVID-
19 restrictions would allow
for an in-person fair by
December, but they would
still like to offer an online
option for people who are
interested in listening to the
presentations or need con-
tinuing education credits.
The survey about pos-
sible online options can be
found online at oregonstate.
qualtrics.com/jfe/form/
SV_42b8gVKZc7XfIup.
The extension center has
already moved some of its
field days, cooking classes
and other services online in
the past few months while
social distancing guide-
lines are in place.
The 2020 Farm Fair will
be the 47th annual event.
In years past, the trade
show and conference has
offered a three-day long
collection of displays and
classes at the Eastern Ore-
gon Trade and Event Cen-
ter in Hermiston.
Located at Space Age Travel Center & Comfort Suites, Exit 182 on I-84
UNDER
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HH file photo
Juan Salamanca, left, and Antonio Echeverria, both of
Hermiston, look at the front bucket on a Case tractor in 2017
at the Hermiston Farm Fair. This year’s farm fair will likely be
held online.
SUN TERRACE HERMISTON
has (4) pre-selected
one bedroom apartments
available for the price
of a studio! *
Call Pam at 541-561-0297 between
June 4th to July 6th, 2020 to learn more!
*Similar Rendition of the Home
Richmond
DESIRABLE
LOCATION
• Seek shade before your actually need it.
• Wear as much clothing as possible: a typical T-shirt
has an SPF rating lower than 15.
• Wear a hat with a full brim and sunglasses to prevent
cataracts.
• Use at least SPF 15 before you go outside, make
sure to reapply often and check the expiration date.
For more information, join us at our FREE virtual Lunch & Learn
Summer & Sun Safety:
June 30, 12:00-12:45pm
To register: Contact 541-667-3509 or healthinfo@gshealth.org
*Computer or smart phone required to join classes*
*Special is available for a 6 month timeframe. On the
Seventh month, the monthly rent returns to the one
bedroom price. Other restrictions may apply.
TUSCANY
OF
BOARDMAN
PHASE 2
The sun’s ultraviolet (UV)
rays can damage your skin
in as little as 15 minutes?
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Loft
Excellent builder
that takes care
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